


Steel Storms

by valy_urse



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16265789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valy_urse/pseuds/valy_urse
Summary: Raleigh felt alone at night since Mako was almost always away on diplomatic bussines and he took up the habit of roaming the hallways of the Shatterdom. One night he found out that he wasn't the only one with trouble sleeping. Chuck Hansen was the other ranger haunting the gym at ungodly hour.Maybe what they both need is a friend. Or maybe more?





	1. My loneliness called for yours

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! So exited to post my first fanfiction! I know it's a mostly forgoten fandom and my story may not attract that much attention. But the plot has haunted me for almost a year now. I will post the first two chapters and then the rest as soon as I am able to finish them. I look forward to reading your coments and critiques. Cheers from Romania!! Muah!! *flies away*

The storm battered the outside of the Shatterdom , but Raleigh was barely bothered by it. It didn’t matter if he could or couldn’t hear the wind and rain try to rip the building off the tarmac. It was another night when his brain refused to let him sleep. He had the migraine under control for now. The doctors still couldn’t figure it out how he escaped two battles in which he piloted solo. He still had some kind of brain damage. It was harder for him to read, thing that bothered him since the harsh light of the tablet and TV tired him after a while, so he could only turn to physical books, but it took him so long to finish one that he was too embarrassed to admit it. 

Since he lost hope that he would sleep at least a couple of hours, he decided to take a stroll around the hallways of the Shatterdom. At this late of an hour there shouldn’t be anyone to see him haunt the open spaces and common areas like a ghost from a time long gone. He decided against going in the direction of the mess hall, last time he went that way, he stumbled upon Tendo making himself a cup of coffee and he was roped in a long night of remembering the old times, and that brought on painful memories of fighting along side his brother. It’s not like he didn’t appreciate that Tendo made an effort in communicating with him, but with remembering Yancy always came the empty sick feeling he got in his very soul.

So he got up, put on his singlet, sweatpants, grabbed his fitness gloves and started to walk towards the Kwon, more specifically towards the gym next to it. Even if he didn’t have access to one when he worked on the wall, he still made an effort to keep a sort of work-out program, and he stuck to it, and it paid off. Now he still felt out of place in the vast, well equipped gym, but it helped if he went there when the others were at lunch or even better if it was the middle of the night like it was now. 

As he approached the gym it became clear that he wasn’t the only one awake at this ungodly hour, the sound of kicks and punches thrown at a punching bag kept getting louder and louder. He almost turned around, but he decided that he would take an opposite corner of the gym, so he won’t have to interact with whoever was abusing that poor bag. He still preferred only Tendo and Mako’s presence around him. He still felt judged by the others, and the fact that now he was “an international hero” didn’t help. He felt under scrutiny. 

He squared up, pushed his chin up and went inside. And there he was, the last person he expected to see here, and the last person who woukd have wanted to interact with him, Chuck Hansen. The bastard crushed everybody’s expectations and two days after Pittfall he was fished out of the ocean by a shipping vessel. He was unconscious, more than banged up and with a slight case of radiation poisoning from the blast. No-one was happier to see him than his until then grieving father, maybe his dog, Max. That mutt hasn’t left the kid’s side since then. Herc even gave him clearance to stay with Chuck in his hospital room in the Med bay, and he even had a comfy basket in the corner of the physiotherapy room.

What baffled everyone, was Chuck himself, after he learned of the victory and how it occurred, and that Stacker hadn’t made it, just saved him, he got unusually quiet. There were no more insults thrown around at the tech support staff, no more smug smirks, no more proud sauntering on the hallways or fetch games with Max in the jaeger bay. Chuck preferred to mumble under his breath and when he answered direct questions the answers were short, polite, and with no unnecessary details. As he was the longest serving jaeger pilot beside his father, everyone around the shatterdom knew him, and all this made them uneasy, as they didn’t know how to interact with him anymore. To Raleigh even Mako seemed concerned as she threw tight lipped looks towards the table at which Chuck always ate alone, just him and Max.

Tonight it was only Chuck, his furry brother nowhere in sight. Raleigh watched him for a few more moments and then moved to the treadmill a little to the right and a good 3-4 treadmills away from him, but he could still see him without being entirely too obvious. He started a light jog and as he got to a sprint he risked looking at Chuck. From Chuck’s profile Raleigh could see his flushed face, the red almost concealing the freckles from his cheekbones. His nose seemed to have been broken a couple of times, a normal occurrence in martial arts, his lips were parted and he was taking deep breaths as if he was at it for a long time before Raleigh even arrived there. But what caught Raleigh’s attention, embarrassingly enough, was just how massive Chuck was compared to him. His biceps rippled with muscles, and surprisingly, just like him, Chuck sported drive suit burns on the shoulder, but his left one, not right like Raleigh.

The sight of those scars broke him out of the appreciative look, they were the statement of the final battle that Chuck almost didn’t survive. And that taught shook Raleigh to the core, because just as he was running on a treadmill at God knows what hour in the morning because sleep evaded him and dreams haunted him, Chuck was doing the same thing as he was. They were both too young to have experienced such horrors. Damn, Chuck was only 5 years younger than him. But what struck him as tragic was that in comparison with Chuck, Raleigh had known a life without war, without monsters from the darkest nightmares of mankind tainting the idea of an ocean, he remembered what it was like to live in a free world, Chuck maybe didn’t even remember what it was like without jaegers ever existing.  
He stopped the treadmill, he made a decision and hoped that he won’t get his nose broken because of what he was about to do. He wiped down the machine and tried to nonchalantly approach Chuck. He didn’t even look at him, he continued to throw punches with a brutal precision at the punch bag.

“Hey Chuck”. No response. “I was thinking, now that we are both here, what do you say we get a rematch for that hallway incident, no-one to stop us now.” Chuck only looked at him from the side of his eye as he continued his assault. “Come on, you are the only one on medical leave just like me. We could make it work. Don’t tell me you are afraid of a brain damaged has-been.” The could stop the hatred from that last statement, but it seemed to have the desired effect. Chuck stopped and looked at him.

“Ok, you drongo, you ascked for it. Don’t you ever say again that I am afraid of you. I ain’t afraid of anyoane. I reckon you have to fear me now.” There was no voice risen, but Raleigh could see the old competitive fire in Chuck’s eyes, so he counted this as a win.

“Alright then. Let’s go to the kwon. I haven’t seen you fight with a bo staff before. Don’t blame me that I’m curious”. Raleigh tried to keep the banter going, but he got only a grunt in response so he went to the staff shelves and chose two, one for him and the other he threw to Chuck. 

They face each other on the matt on the opposite sides, bowed and Raleigh barely had time to rise his bo staff above his head to stop a lightning fast attack from Chuck. And so, the spare began. They were almost complete opposites. Chuck was brute force, he struck with all his might, no hesitation, everything was calculated precision and continuous offence. On the other side, Raleigh was sinuous speed, he kept ducking, spinning, and striking only when he instinctually felt that Chuck was open in his defence. And in spite of this, they couldn’t corner one another, they seemed to anticipate what the other was thinking, blocking and sidestepping in the last moment. To Raleigh it seemed like a dance, and he was surprised to see a small smile on Chuck’s face. He could feel his own face splitting in a grin. But as everything that’s beautiful, their spare session had to come to an end. 

And that end came when Raleigh felt his left arm spasming and he was shocked to feel the acute pain so suddenly. That’s all it took for Raleigh to stare a second later from the floor at Chuck’s smug smile as he was pinning him to the matt with a leg on his chest. 

“Now tell me, you wanker, does it look like I’m afraid of you. Because to me it looks like I won.” Well, Raleigh couldn’t deny that he won, but it’s not like he would let himself he stomped on by an asshole. 

“Fine. At least we’re even now. I won once, you won this time.” He couldn’t keep the shit eating grin that escaped him as he saw the frown that Chuck was sprouting. He tossed the bo staff aside and he laid completely on his back with his hand behind his head in a relaxed pose and continued to smile up at Chuck.  
As Chuck continued to glare at him with his bo staff at his side, Raleigh gave the matt beside him a pat and gestured do him to take a seat. Chuck huffed but he also tossed the bo aside and sat crossed legged on the matt and after a while he laid down beside Raleigh, a little u sure and at at least a foot away from him, with his hand on his chest. 

They were both tired and not very chatty in general, so they stayed in comfortable silence and just listened to the howling storm outside. Raleigh found his thoughts wandering to the last time he was here in the kwon, more than a week ago, with Mako. They spared before she had to go the USA for an UN meeting that concerned the PPDC’s request for autonomy as an international military organisation that would act independently of the UN. Hercules put her in charge of the diplomatic side of the matter since she was Stacker’s second hand and she had far more experience in handling the snobby politicians than a battle hardened Herc. Her proximity and willingness to listen to Raleigh or just hold him when he felt like everything was too much helped him more than anything in readapting. But as he spared with Chuck, even as he just observed him from the treadmill he found himself realising that he didn’t feel that all-consuming loss as she was away, he just missed her. Maybe both he and Chuck could benefit from a friend. Especially since Raleigh could clearly see that he needed one.

“I know what it feels like to be lonely.” Raleigh sighed and continued. “But before I was lonely I also knew what it was like to have friends that were always there for you. After..” he gulped” after Yancy, I felt so lost, it felt like I was dead along with him. They put me on suicide watch. Not a lot of jaeger pilots emerged sane after their partner died in the Con-pod, add on top of that that I piloted Gipsy alone until I reached shore. But even if I was never alone in that room I had never felt lonelier. The only thing that partially got me oyt of that state was Tendo” Raleigh smiled. “He faked a breach in the system and as everyone was running around he came and sneaked me out of the Med bay. I struggled all those t years, but I never forgot what he had done for me, he offered me a chance at a new life. Can you believe that they were already searching for a new co-pilot for me?” He gave a lonh sufcering sigh. “ But what I’m trying to say is that I want to be for you what Tendo was for me. We all deserve someone like that.”

He was still waiting for an answer and he didn’t want to look over to see Chuck’s disgusted look so he said “You know, I’m literally spilling my emotional guts over here, you could at least..” but he was interrupted by a soft snore. Raleigh turned towards Chuck and saw that he had fallen asleep with an arm over his eyes and his mouth slightly open.

Raleigh was caught between a sigh and a snort of laughter. He covered his mouth with his hand so he won’t laugh. Well, at least one of them was tired enough to sleep. But a new dilemma arose. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave Chuck here, he was under the strong impression that he won’t appreciate being found in the morning snoring on the matt. But would it be overstepping helping him to his room?

He sighed earnestly this time and as disturbing the hard earned sleep the kid fi ally received he decided to carry him. But damn if that wasn’t a work out all on its own.   
He put Chuck in a fireman hold and started the long trek towards Chuck’s room. His legs were properly exercised as he reached the bunk. There was an akward moment when he struggled not to drop the giant ass on the ground and freeing an arm to knock. Here goes nothing.

If he was surprised by the turn of events at this hour in the early morning, it certainly didn’t came to the level of surprise and bafflement Herc displayed when, with the door halfway opened saw what was in front of him. An embarrassed Raleigh with a limp Chuck in a precarious equilibrium on his back. 

Raleigh almost threw Chuck right on his father’s arms as from his shoulder, very close to his ear a sleepy and grumpy voice was suddenly heard. “Come on old man, move over so Ray here can take me to my room.” The strangeness of this moment really spoke for itself as Herc didn’t even snap at hi for calling him that way, he just stepped aside.

Raleigh had a split second to make a decision, drop Chuck to retaliate or continue the mission and give Hercules blackmail material on both him and Chuck. His stubborn streak reared it’s head and he stepped over the threshold, being careful with his lazy cargo. “the first door on the right” was mumbled from his shoulder again and as he took in the spartan common area of the bunk he went in the direction Chuck dictated. He struggled a bit with the doorknob, but he got it opened and he wasn’t surprised to see the same military grade cleanliness in Chuck’s bedroom, but what caught his attention was the desk full of jaeger blueprints, jaeger figurines and a few posters, but he didn’t stop to admire them. 

As he reached the bed he unceremoniously dumped the lazy asshole in it, put his hands on his hips an enjoyed the surprised and outraged squak that escape Chuck’s mouth. “That’s what you get for being a lazy asshole and making me haul your ass all the way to your room.” Chuck shrugged as if to say it was worth it.  
“It’s the least I deserve for beating you in the kwon. I beat you fair and square and you owed me, because I won.” He was now comfortably stretched on his bed with his hands behind his head an he was smirking up at Raleigh.

Two could play that game, alright. “Sure, Chuck. Whatever makes you sleep at night.” Retorted Raleigh as he himself smirked on his way outside. “ ‘Night Chuck. Sweet dreams.” And for the added assholery he blew him a kiss. Chuck grumbled at him as he flipped hin the bird before turning with his back at him and burring under his blanket.

His smile faltered as he turned after he closed the door and saw Herc in the middle of the living room still looking baffled at him. Raleigh nodded at him and quickly retreated before he would have to answer to some embarrassing questions. His bunk was at the other end of the hallway, still across from Mako’s. His steps echoed in the empty and silent space, but he was used to the sound, but it sounded empty now that Chuck’s sleepy snuffles or smug remarks weren’t heard along side the merciless winds that battered the walls of the building.

He shook his head at the intrusive taught and went inside his bunk. He followed his routine after a work-out. He showered, brushed his teeth and flossed (he now afforded a dentist!), put on an old T-shirt, a pair of comfy boxers and got in his bed. He smiled as he remembered how weird this night has been, and with a smile on his face, after a long time, he fell asleep.


	2. Secrets never stay in the dark for too long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

He woke up suddenly, not used to sleeping so long and because after so many years in the PPDC was used to to waking up fast when the alarm was ringing in the Shatterdom for a kaiju attack. He slept until 7 30 which was unusual for him, but he felt well rested, even if he missed a good chunk of the breakfast food. So he got up, stretched as his muscles were a little sore from last night and went to take a shower. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair to at least make it stay in place. It had gotten on the longish side and it was unruly, but he liked the way it styled so he was reluctant to cut it. He skipped shaving, his arm tended to cramp after such time consuming and tedious tasks, but it didn’t matter now, he didn’t have a press conference so he didn’t care that much. He put on his navy PPDC issued sweater and cargo pants, his trusty boots and started his trek to the mess hall in no hurry. He felt that good and well rested.

The mess hall was mostly empty, just like the entire Shatterdom, as most staff was away on leave and just some basic maintenance was needed, and those who were still here have already had their breakfast. He took some of the sandwiches from a fridge, grabbed a mug for some black tea with some honey and went to his now usual table. No one really bothered him when Mako was away, maybe just Newt with Hermann when they emerged from their lab after processing all the data they gathered from their kaiju drift, but that was fairly rare. 

He was munching slowly on his sandwich, sipping his tea and reading a small book he took with him in one of the pockets of his cargo pants. He was still slightly malnourished as he sometimes forgot that he wasn’t on food stamps or just plainly forgot to eat sometimes, so just a couple of sandwiches and he was good for breakfast. His peace was interrupted when he felt a heavy wiggly body ramming in his legs and startling him. When he looked down he saw Max’s face with a big doggy smile.

“Hey there Max. Weren’t you supposed to be with your master? What are you doing here begging for food?” He started giving him pets as he asked this. Who could resist such a good boy? He really was a sweet dog even if Chuck was an asshole sometimes.

“He asks everyone for scraps, so you’re not that special.” Raleigh looked up and was surprised to see Chuck placing his tray of food on the his table and taking a seat opposite of him. He looks well rested as well, but his frown was present as always, it may be just a habit though, so Raleigh just smiled at him and straightened to look at him before speaking.

“Well it’s good to see you too Your Majesty. How was your rest after my humble self had to haul Your Majesty’s lazy ass all the way to your room?” What could he say? If the kid wanted to be an asshole, he reserved the act of teasing the hell out of him. And hell if those cheeks weren’t stained with a blush as Chuck looked at him with widening eyes before he caught himself and quickly looked at his food.

“Yeah, yeah. Well it isn’t like it was that hard for you to carry me. It wasn’t that far away.” He took a bite of his eggs and gave some of them to Max. The bulldog happily munched on them and then politely sat on his hind legs waiting for some more.

“Not hard? You must really see yourself as a skinny guy, because to me you look pretty damn beefy. Even if I’m taller than you, you still weigh more probably.” Raleigh sat back and sipped his tea as he watched Chuck blush and frown at the same time. He really didn’t like it that Raleigh was taller, huh? Tough luck then. Max moved to him then and put his stubby paw on his leg and let out a gruffy woof. It seems he thinks he has better chances at getting food from him than from his owner. Well he is right, and Raleigh gives him his last bite of his sandwich.

Just then Herc sits down beside his son and nods at Raleigh in greeting. Raleigh felt a little embarrassed remembering Herc’s reaction to the sight of his son being carried like a sack of potatoes to his room and thrown on his bed. He felt a little bad for not offering any explanation and just bolting out of there. He is 85% sure Chuck hasn’t said anything about it and Raleigh wasn’t about to anyway. 

They finished in silence, Raleigh his tea and them their food. After he was done, Raleigh gathered his tray and trash, nodded at both Chuck and Herc and went to put his tray away, ignoring Chuck’s large eyes and Herc’s deliberately neutral expression. But before he could exit the mess, he heard two sets of foot steps, one canine and clumsy and one human, loud and assertive. It seems that despite Chuck’s quitter temperament, his walk was still the same. 

“Hey, Ray, do you have anything to do right now?” Chuck asked him and then averted his eyes preferring to look at Max as he looked at Raleigh with a happy doggy smile on his face. “I was about to take Max on his walk around the Shattedom and it gets boring sometimes.” 

Okay? Raleigh didn’t expect Chuck to be this forward in their attempt at a friendship since he was so grumpy and tended to stick to himself most of the times. But who was he to judge? Without Mako to drag him around to socialise he was pretty much the same. Hell. Even last night he was hopping to be alone before he found Chuck and spared with him.

“I was about to go to the rec room and see what books I haven’t read yet, but a walk around sound really nice though. Now that I could have some company.” Raleigh smiled at Chuck and gestures for him to lead the way.

They go around the jaeger bay, taking turns throwing the tennis ball for Max to run after. Chuck always threw it farther as if to one up Raleigh, but Raleigh just enjoyed seeing Max run like crazy to catch it. And the silence. They almost came to a silent agreement that they would rather just walk. After Max got bored of the ball they started walking on the almost endless hallways towards the small green space behind the Shattedom. Just a patch of grass and a few bushes in between a concrete wall. They stopped in the middle of it, Raleigh sitting cross legged with his hands on his knees and partially facing Chuck as he stretched his muscled legs in front of him and started ripping blades of grass and pilling them between them. They let Max trot around to sniff what his heart desired.

“You know, I never properly thanked you for saving our arses back in the Honk Kong bay when Striker shut down.” Beside the shock of a sincere apology from Chuck, Raleigh watched as some grief made it’s way in his voice. Chuck missed his jaeger. It’s understandable, Raleigh missed his lady Danger also, but maybe Chuck missed Stricker more. He had more years inside that con-pod than e got even in the first place. But he had to say something since Chuck took on staring at his little mountain of grass.

“No need to thank me, Chuck. It was my job after all, and as I saved you I gained a friend maybe.” He smiled sincerely at him but was surprised when Chuck groaned as he looked up at him.

“No wander everybody fucking loved you and Yancy. All that blond blue eyed apple pie all American boy crap really works foe you. You must have had women throwing themselves at your feet.” As he said that he let himself fall on his back with his arms outstretched. But his plan of relaxation was foiled when Max cam barrelling into him and started licking his face. Raleigh was too busy laughing and holding his aching tummy to help a struggling Chuck as he tried and failed to stop Max. 

Finally he took pity on Chuck and took the slobbering dog of off him, but he still chuckled as he was doing that. Chuck was red in the face and frowning at his dog as he interrupted his dramatic scene, but started petting him along with Raleigh as he settled between them on the grass.

“But really. Was all that an act the PPDC made you do, wasn’t it.” Chuck seemed to be interested in talking and that was a rare fit lately and Raleigh wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to get to know this grumpy brooding enigma, even if he had to reminiscent some long gone times.

“The way we acted in front of the camera was slightly scripted as your dad must have told you, but in general we spoke our mind. On the other side, our back stories were altered to fit the norm. Back then the PPDC needed model pilots to attract as much funding as they could get. All in vain it seems many years later.” He gave a small sad smile as he remembered the many interviews he took part in beside his brother.

“I kind of expected that, but you still sound too wholesome for a seppo. Now you made me curious though. You have to tell me what skeletons the PPDC tried to hide in your closet.” Chuck gave an expectant smirk and he stopped mauling the patch of grass in favour of staring with a glint in his eyes at Raleigh. Damned be his dimples if they didn’t made his resolve melt like an ice cube on the sun.

“Well I’m not an all American boy as you called me.” Raleigh smirked at the dramatical and sarcastic gasp Chuck gave and shoved his foot aside with his foot. “No, seriously, my mother was French and for the first years of my life I spoke French with my siblings and mother.” At Chuck’s confused face Raleigh sighed. “Yancy wasn’t my only sibling. I had a sister. Jasmin. We had to give her up to the foster care system since she was still a minor when we up and decided we wanted to be jaeger pilots.” He felt his throat constrict but continued. “After my mother died of cancer, my father decided we were a burden so he left me and Jasmin, still kids practically to be raised by Yancy who was technically an adult. And I haven’t seen or spoken to her since we left her at the train station in Alaska. She hasn’t contacted us since.” Raleigh felt raw and open and by the time he finished he was looking at his hand on his lap.

The silence stretched between them before Chuck said “Well that was depressing.” Raleigh couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him and he looked up at Chuck with a small smile to see him leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. “Anything else the PPDC deemed too gloomy for the general public?” he looked at Raleigh then and raised one eyebrow.

“If you count the fact that I’m bisexual but wasn’t allowed to date any men, that might be all.” Raleigh smirked at Chuck’s wide eyes and open mouth but he wasn’t about to let him say anything remotely perverted so he said quickly “It’s your turn to spill the beans. A secret for a secret.” He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked at Chuck’s frown.

Chuck scratched the back of his head then ruffled his hair before bringing his hand down to give Max some pats. Maybe a grounding habit, who knows, and then said quietly almost uncharacteristic for him. “I have the biggest amount of failed compatibility drift tests in the Academy. Not one of my class mates could drift with me. From all the candidates in that year that had potential I was the only one that could not form any kind of bond.” He refused to look at Raleigh instead choosing to stare at his hand as it smoothed and then ruffled Max’s coat. “My only luck was that uncle Scott got discharged and based on our family bond I got paired with my old man.” He was silent for a bit, Raleigh let him gather himself. “It’s not even an easy drift like you and Mako have. We almost battle for who to run the jaeger every time. Well.. we used to anyway.” Chuck looked at him from beneath his lashes but averted his eyes to Max immediately after.

Raleigh felt like it was his turn to lighten up the mood so he chose a story and smiled and chuckled before saying “You don’t have to tell me about difficult drifts. In the middle of one I found out Yancy slept with a girl I had a crush on. The drift broke and we started a fight and threw blows right there in de con-pod.” Raleigh was almost startled out of his memory by Chuck’s laugh. 

“Man, it took so much out of me not to laugh out loud when you challenged her like that. All confidence and arrogance. I couldn’t wait to see her wipe the floor with your face.” His smile was somewhere between a smirk and a fond one as looked up at Raleigh. “What did you think could happen when you spoke to the marshal’s daughter like that?” 

“To be honest, I expected to have my ass handed to me by the marshal himself.” Raleigh was also smiling now, Chuck’s sudden good spirits feeling contagious. “My luck was that he was kind of used to my kind of attitude. I was the one that wanted to save that boat from Knifehead, disobeyed direct orders and got my brother killed in the end.” He felt the bitter taste of grief and regret in the back of his mouth and tried to swallow it without being to obvious.

“Simmer down, you wanker. Both me and my dad disobeyed orders when we went against Mutavore and saved Sydney. Do you think they cared that much for technicalities after we saved their arses?” Strange way of comforting someone, but Raleigh felt a sad smile split his face.

“At least you still got to be a jaeger pilot after that. Beside my own incapability of piloting with someone that very same month like they wanted me to, after I ran away from the hospital ward I was dishonourably discharged as you might have known and I struggled five years in shelters and on the very top of that damn wall not to end myself.” Now Raleigh wasn’t looking at Chuck, he was tracing the seems of his pants instead, regretting even admitting that. Chuck stopped petting Max and was looking at him with wide eyes and tight lipped mouth. What he did next surprised maybe both of them from the stiffness of his shoulders. He dragged Raleigh in an awkward hug. His hands held him tight as Raleigh’s own came around him all the while trembling slightly. It was obvious that Chuck wasn’t accustomed with physical contact all that often, but the fact that he made an effort to show his support almost brought tears to Raleigh’s eyes.

“If it’s worth something I’m glad that you got to run away and collect yourself. Beside saving our arses in Hong Kong, you are now my only friend besides Max. You’ll never surpass him, but you’re close.” There was an audible smile in Chuck’s almost whispered confession.

Damn this kid and his hidden talent in giving comfort, Raleigh found himself chuckling at him and after a brief pat on his back they were both interrupted by Max’s insistence in being included in the hug as he jumped between them and started licking their faces. He was never happier with his tendencies to roam at night when he couldn’t sleep. Because of them he gained another friend, even if a reluctant and grumpy one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can harass me on tumblr at valyurse. It’s just my name. But I would like to hear what you think and even make some friends. Who knows. Peace!


	3. Sweet revenge; kind of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter three of this fanfiction. I know this is a little short, but I wanted to ilustrate the growth of their relationship before getting to the saucy parts. *wink wink* I hope you all like it! Please leave a comment, I'm open for critiques and discutions.Cheers!

Chuck and Raleigh are very different people (understatement of the year), but the time they spent together wasn’t all fight, macho chest puffing or throwing insults at one another. Ou contraire, most of it was spent in silence. They watched movies from Raleigh’s childhood that de could remember, or they could be observed roaming the Shattedom at whatever hour with Max at their heels. When they did talk they avoided going into heavy subjects like they did in that morning on the patch of grass. They got to know each other. Chuck spoke about his collection of vintage jaeger figurines, about his love for their engineering and how between training and fighting kaiju he would spend as much time away from his father as possible, hovering beside the techs when they made repairs on Stricker. And that’s how he got his blue prints that he so proudly displayed on his walls. Raleigh spoke about his pranks and fights that he got into with Yancy at his side, that time they taught it would be a good idea to steal their sister’s bras and hang them in the tree from their back yard but they got caught and their mother made them sleep outside, in the Alaskan spring, or that time Yancy challenged him to ask a girl out while singing Careless Whisper to her, that bastard laughed the whole time while he held the speaker. Who knew Raleigh had such a horrendous voice or that the aforementioned girl would have her friends record it? 

They still sasses at one another, neither Chuck nor Raleigh passing up a chance to tease the other one. That’s how Raleigh found himself shamed for his emo phase back in his preteens, relentless shaming. That witch even found photos of him with “guyliner” and his long ass bangs dyed black. And that’s why he found himself in Hong Kong talking to the black market guru and Newt’s occasional boyfriend, Hannibal Chau, because one thing could be said about Raleigh, he was a vindictive little bastard, but Chuck didn’t know that. And what Chuck didn’t knew he didn’t fear, so Raleigh took advantage of that. 

Things were still hard to come by, even if the kaiju were defeated and people started to slowly but surely trickle back closer to the shore. But things could still be bought if you had the right connections, and Raleigh certainly did. Chau gave him an odd look but refrained from saying anything to the hero. It would be bad to upset a customer, especially now that kaiju bits were no longer going to be in such high supply and he had to rebrand as the guy with anything you wanted.

Raleigh felt an almost evil laugh escaping him as he was making his way towards Chuck’s room. He knew that he and Hercules were training at this hour so that gave him plenty of time to put his plan in action. He used the door code he got from Tendo to quickly get inside the Hansens room and then went to Chuck’s. Since he knew how much he valued his blue prints he didn’t want to mess with them, that’s when the jaeger figurines came in.

As he slipped out of the room he felt a giddiness he almost forgot. It felt just like when he was waiting for Yancy to step in a dog turd he hadn’t bothered to point out to him. Now he just had to find a suitable place to hide and wait for Chuck’s rage. Man, he couldn’t wait to see his face. He chose the kitchen since it was easy and almost no one was there at that hour. He helped them wash dishes and peel potatoes in the meantime.

“Raaaaaaaleeeeeiiiigh!!” Chuck’s below could be heard all the way there. Oh boy, he might get his ass kicked, better run. That’s how he found himself running on the Shatterdom’s hallways with Chuck’s swears and insults shouted at him, laughing at Max’s attempt to keep up with his master. He tumbled and feel in the grass where they first talked partly because of his stomach hurting from so much laughing and partly because his leg cramped, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that as Raleigh found himself being beaten up with a pink and fluffy throw pillow by a red and angry Chuck.

“What have you done to my room, you absolute wanker!?” Every word was punctuated with a hit of the pillow on his head and torso. Raleigh could barely breath, his laugh was silent by now. Their struggle was broken up by a stony faced Herc as he pulled his son of off Raleigh. Chuck was still yelling at him and he tried to keep his composure in front of the marshal but he was clearly failing to do so since he had laughing tears streaming down his face. 

“Raleigh” Her said, and that tone silenced both of them, “I don’t care for your fights, but at least you could help this banshee here fix his room before I fix both of you with bathroom cleaning duty.” Her seemed 100% serious and both of them shut their mouth. Chuck clicked his heels and started walking towards the ‘dom fumming. Before Raleigh could also go after him he felt Herc grabbing his arm. He gulped and looked at Herc only to see the older ranger hitting his lips in attempt to stop laughing.

“I don’t know how you pulled that, but I almost broke down laughing beside him before he took off yelling that he would shove the glittery canopy up your arse.” His shoulders were shaking with silent laughter as he finished speaking. “Now go help him before all that shite finds it’s way in your room.”  
Raleigh was still a little shocked that he got away with little to no scratch so he just smiled, nodded and followed Chuck to his room. He almost lost it again when he entered the room and saw Chuck sitting with his legs crossed on the floor, frowning at his jaeger figurines, now dressed in pretty frilly dresses with bows and lace. He gathered himself and sat next to him.

“I know we call them ‘she’, mate, but did you have to get them dresses that are this ugly?” He looked so defeated in the middle of his redecorated bedroom that Raleigh just had to laugh.

To pain the picture, Raleigh did to Chuck’s room what Jasmine did to her room when she was 7 or 8. His bed had Disney princesses bedsheets and a glittery canopy, on his floor there was a My little pony rug, and all of his jaegers has frilly dresses and Kens beside them. The jewel on this crown, though was the almost a dozen of pink fairy lights Raleigh hung all around his room. He was quite proud what he was able to achieve in such a short time.

“Well, the babies I had to work with weren’t the ones I wanted, Chau couldn’t get me the Braz dolls my sister liked so much.” Raleigh tried to seem cool while he shrugged but his cheeks were still pink and he was hitting his lips looking at the little girl mayhem he created. “Consider this payback for showing Tendo my photos from my emo phase.” He smirked at Chuck as he looked up at him.

“Well fuck you too. Now help me get this things down before I sick Max on you.” So they started undressing the jaegers, which in itself was a ridiculous thing, and then they got on to the hanging lights and rug, and while Raleigh got on a chair to take down the canopy Chuck striped the bed and folded the obnoxiously pink bedsheet. It didn’t take long and they worked in silence as Chuck seemed to give him the silent treatment. Which was weird as just about an hour ago he was chasing Raleigh around the Shatterdom. But this was Chuck and He had to talk to survive.

“So what are we going to do with these things that an unicorn barfed on?” They were starting at a mountain of glittery pink things. “I don’t thinks that came all that cheap.” He raised an eyebrow at Raleigh and he shrugged.

“I planned on giving them away anyway, one of the techs from gipsy danger has three sons and a little girls so I think she would appreciate all of these as a gift.” He’s suddenly remembering the Christmas mornings when all three of them would run down the stairs in a hurry to be the first one to get to the presents. He always lost to Yancy since he was taller and had longer legs. He wondered if Chuck ran down the stairs for his presents or he was as broody as he was now. 

Raleigh looked at Chuck as he lifted Mac up and put him on his bed. It was such and innocent thing to do, just a boy helping his dog get more comfortable for his afternoon nap. He was grateful for Herc’s idea of getting Max for his son. It preserved some of his humanity and prevented him from becoming a military drone. Everyone needs a friend, even self absorbed assholes like Chuck. And now he could call himself one as well. 

He threw an arm over Chuck’s shoulders and asked “Hey, Chick, what do you say we go somewhere for a drink?” We haven’t left this claustrophobic place in so long, and I crave a really cold beer. I could even drink some jiû or rice wine how it’s called.” He shook him to get his point across and smiled slightly down at him.   
Chuck pushed him, but not as violent as Raleigh taught he would and smirked at him “Are you sure you could keep up you old man? Don’t forget that I’m both Australiand and I partied with the Kaidanovskys and Weis.” He looked really proud of himself as he said that, chest puffed out and arms crossed. Damn those dimples, they really didn’t match the cocky attitude he had. 

“Well as you said, I’m older than you and so I have more experience than you. Come on, let’s go. I have to take my coat from my room before we go.” Raleigh didn’t let him finish what he had to say when he opened his mouth, he just went out the door. Herc wasn’t anywhere in sight so he was probably still in his office, so he was spared of any awkward encounter with him.

When he got back from his room, Chuck was also in his bomber jacket and was waiting for him leaning on the wall beside his door. “And where exactly are we going to go drinking? Do you even know a bar in the city?”

“Tendo told me about a decent one near the bay so we wont have to go far. Come on, let’s have fun for once in your life.” Raleigh shoulder checked him to squish him against the wall. Chuck pushed him grumbling and tried to kick him in the ass but Raleigh was faster and avoided the kick laughing. They then both started walking towards the ferry, Chuck sauntering in his usual way, hand in his jacket’s pocket and Raleigh with his thumbs in his jeans’ pockets. This will be fun. He hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can harass me on tumblr at valyurse. It’s just my name. But I would like to hear what you think and even make some friends. Who knows. Peace!


	4. Your blues look stunning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the kudos and to those of you that have been so kind as to leave me comments! Here it Chapter 4 of this fanfiction and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed wrinting it!

“Does it freak you out as much as it freaks me out that we can travel safely on water now?” Chuck asked as he looked over the railing of the ferry at the water below. They were both leaning against it with their arms in front of them and their hands together. Raleigh on the other hand was looking out at the boats milling around still trying to neutralize the kaiju blue that still plagued the sea and admired the twinkling lights of the ships waiting to get in the harbour against the slightly darkened sky. Humanity had its own kind of charm as you watched it survive and thrive.

“Not really. I worked on a trawler for a few months a year before me and Yancy enrolled in the Academy so I’m used to traveling on it. But what has you so jumpy? Didn’t you live in Sidney before the kaiju?” Raleigh asked as he turned his head to look at Chuck and pushed him with his shoulder. He was frowning at the sliver of water he could see between his arms. Chuck told him one night that he remembered running after his mother on the beach and his father after him as she hurried along to get them a spot closer to the water. It was an innocent memory that spilled almost without warning as they were watching movies that Chuck hasn’t seen until then such as the Terminator series. They didn’t talk about it, but Raleigh shuffled a little closer to him on the rec room’s sofa as he tried to comfort him without annoying or scaring him away.

“Yeah, I did, but for the past years the only times I’ve seen this bloody water was when I had to fight alongside my old man to defend them.” Chuck tried to shrug as without care but Raleigh could see past the frown on his face that his mouth was downturned in sadness. This called for an emergency strategy so he shoulder checked him harder as to grab his attention.

“Come on, you chicken, don’t try to distract me from the fact that tonight we are going to drink until you pass out and I win again.” Raleigh smirked down at Chuck as he straightened and headed towards the gate that was now opening to show the passageway for the bay. That brought Chuck to himself again as he ran after him and pushed past him that Raleigh almost toppled overboard. 

“Then move, you old ass has been, even my old man can walk faster than you do. Is your hip acting up again?” His laugher could be heard over the noise of the bustle as he tried to rile Raleigh up. And rile him up he did, prepare yourself you cocky asshole. Raleigh blew him a raspberry and started walking beside him.

The bar wasn’t all that far and that’s why Tendo told him about it in the first place so Raleigh had to act fast. As they were walking side by side this opened in an opportunity to prank him a little bit. So when Chuck was distracted by glancing at something, Raleigh bent his leg at the knee and instead of kicking his butt he moved it to kick Chuck’s. Chuck made a surprised noise and looked behind him and then beside him before eyeing Raleigh with narrow suspicious eyes. 

Raleigh tried to look innocent and threw in some serious puppy dog eyes. It might have worked if he could have kept the smile of his face more than 0.1 seconds. But he was saved from Chuck’s gaze when they arrived at the bar and got inside.

This was a traditional Chinese bar so they ordered alongside their bottles of alcohol some pot stickers and dumplings. The food cut the burning feeling of the alcohol and before Raleigh realized it he was leaning heavily with his arms on the table and his vision started to blur at the edges. Chuck on the other hand was just a little rosy on the cheeks and wolfed dumplings like there was no tomorrow. Just as Raleigh contemplated that he tossed another shot and looked at him.

“Raleigh, you ok over there, mate?” There was a victorious smile on his face and Raleigh could only grumble in response as words seemed pretty hard to think right now. “Come on, you seppo, let’s get you home before you fall asleep in your seat.” He signalled the waiter over and paid for them before heaving Raleigh up and half dragged half walked him out of there. His mind must have been really muddled by the alcohol because Chuck smelled so good at that moment that Raleigh just had to lean his head on his shoulder as they rode the fery.

What he could clearly remember the next day as he looked up at his ceiling from his bed was how after he came down from the ferry he almost puked out his stomach and how Chuck tried to comfort him without laughing too much and started helping him to his room. The rest was kind of blurry and made only some snaps of it, such as how he sat in his bed pouting while Chuck was away to collect Max from his room, how he cried on Chuck’s shoulder while they watched Up! and Chuck tried not to laugh at him (don’t judge him, that movie ripped his heart out every time he saw it), how he confessed to Chuck that Dug was his favourite character because Yancy told him when they first watched it that he was like him and from that on his recollection stopped so he must have fallen asleep. 

Since he fell asleep still fully clothed he felt disgustingly sticky and gross so he decided that he will take a shower despite his massive headache that kept him in his bed until now. He got up and scratched his head, he went without a shower last night and it itched something fierce right now. But first he will brush his teeth so as to get rid of the nasty taste of alcohol and vomit from his mouth.

As he started brushing he sleepily looked in the mirror and stopped his movement in shock at what he saw. His.Hair.Was.Blue..his..hair..was..blue..BLUE.. In shis stupor he rinsed his mouth and his brush before he leaned in to look closer at the mop of cobalt blue on his head. How the hell could he have done it anyway? He doesn’t remember being moved or even something being put in his hair. As he contemplated that he realised that he knew this shade of dye. It was Mako’s.   
“Okay, Raleigh, keep calm, don’t do anything you might regret later.” He gave himself a pep talk before he wondered if it could be rinsed of so he hopped in the shower. Four rinses later and a lot of shampoo used, not only his hair was blue but so was the entire floor of his shower and the bottles of soaps and shampoo.

He gave up and just dried himself and then used the hair drier to hasten his stay in the bathroom so he could get dressed faster. After he threw on some clothes he headed straight to the Hansesns room and knocked on their door. Instead of Chuck answered Herc and Raleigh resigned himself to having another awkward conversation with his superior in just two days in a row.

“Hello, Sir. Is Chuck there? I have to speak to him for a moment.” He tried to keep his frustration from his voice but it must have not worked because Herc started laughing and laughed so hard that tears started streaming down his face as he tried to speak.

“He-“ another chuckle “he went out with Max to the green patch behind the Shatterdom this morning and hasn’t been back since then. And now I know why.” And he started to laugh again, this time that silent laughter that comes after not being able to breathe from so much laughter. Raleigh thanked him with a nod and left before Herc stopped to say anything else.

As he made his way to the place where Chuck was many of the ones he passed by did double takes and some even stopped what they were doing and stared at him as he went by them. But he didn’t pay them no mind, he was on a mission. He found Chuck whare his father told him we might find him. He was on his back basking in the sun while Max was digging himself a hole near a tree.

When he saw him, Max came running but Raleigh gestured to him to stay just as Chuck taught him. Max being the good boy he is, plopped down and waited for his next order. Raleigh got an idea and he plopped down too, on his belly and crawled to Chuck. Just before he reached him he got up making sure not to block the sun and give himself away. He then screamed bloody murder and jumped onto him pinning him down as he screamed and tried to get away from under Raleigh.

“What the fucking hell is wrong with you? I could have bashed your head in!” Chuck yelled at him as he finally pushed him off of him. Raleigh could only laugh as Chuck started stabbing him with his finger in his ribs. He dodged another attempt at his tickly spots and stoop up to push Chuck away with his boot.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you, you asshole? Look at me!” he said pointing at his hair as it was sticking in all directions in all his blue wonder. “I look like I pissed off the blueberry mafia and they ordered a hit on me!” That only got him a loud laugh from Chuck as he looked better at him.

“If you weren’t such a lousy drinker AND such a lousy drunk in general you wouldn’t have gotten yourself a makeover. Tit for tat isn’t it? You help me with my room I help you with your look.” He shot him a smug look and crossed his arms as Raleigh could only pout.

“But you got you boring room back, how am I supposed to get this thing of my head?” He also crossed his arms and glared at Chuck from his spot on the grass. At least Max showed a little more empathy as he came over to beg for some pets and cheer Raleigh up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate. To me it seems you’re just as handsome as ever.” Chuck immediately seemed to regret that as his eyes widened and his lips tightened. But it was out so Raleigh might as well jump on it.

“I’m flattered, Chuck. I had no idea that you considered me handsome. Do you have a crush on me?” Raleigh smiled a cheshire cat smile at him as he uncrossed his arms and put his hand on his kneed to lean in closer to him. And he was delighted by what he found. The mighty Chuck Hansen, ranger extraordinaire was blushing as he avoided his gaze. Ha! get it?

So Raleigh only leaned in closer until their noses almost touched and he had to cross his eyes slightly to look at him. “Come on Chuck don’t be a tease. You can tell me. Aren’t we friends?” He tried to sound innocent but his own heart started beating a little faster as he took in Chuck’s own handsome face.

And before he even realised what was happening, Chuck kissed him. It was chased kiss, almost shy. But just as suddenly as it started it ended leaving Raleigh stunned in his place, wide eyed as he watched Chuck quickly scramble to get up and call for Max to come with him. He watched him go inside and he couldn’t supress the thought that came to his mind. That brat had such nice and strong arms and back and they looked absolutely mouth watering as he made his way to the Shatterdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you liked this Chapter and sorry for the cliffhanger, but at the time it seemed necessary! (Please don't kill me) If that move Raleigh did to kick Chuck in the butt seemes imposible I assure you that we did that all the time to our friends here in Romania. Also, Raleigh's Shower now looks how mine looked when I used to have blue hair. Lol. As always, critisism is apreciated and so are comments in general. You can also harass me on Tumblr at valyurse. Cheers! *flies away on an unicorn beside Deadpool*

**Author's Note:**

> You can harass me on tumblr at valyurse. It’s just my name. But I would like to hear what you think and even make some friends. Who knows. Peace!


End file.
